Not all Roman alphabet letters are created equal. Some are used much more than others, as becomes readily apparent in this mind game / brain teaser / scam. It involved compelling people to list words that lack certain letters, without which words all but cannot be made. Watch this video to learn how to play this trick on unsuspecting (and preferably pretentiously wordy) friends or enemies.
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WhatToGetMy Instructional Article
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Humor is a very important factor in most relationships, and this is not even an exaggeration as shown by this graph by Socialpronow on what people prefer in a partner.
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Being funny attracts people because it creates a comfortable atmosphere to relax and release negative energy. -
This is why people who are funny generally seem to have more friends than not.
It is now a proven fact that laughter is indeed the best medicine. Okay, maybe not the best because it can’t cure cancer but it is right up there. You see laughter lifts your mood and relieves stress and in so doing makes your immune system stronger and reduces pain.
It also helps you relate better with people and believe it or not, burns calories.
Point is, humor is good.
There are several ways to be funny: you could crack a joke, act out a funny scene, or simply do something funny like farting with your armpits. The thing is though, those things all involve you. What if instead, you made other people the comedians for a change by making them say or do something funny.
Many of us have gone through it in teenagehood so this concept should not be new. Chances are, you’ve used some verbal mind tricks to play on your friends before and made them say something funny. If that is the case then the question is, why did you ever stop? And if you never did this at all, why didn’t you?
Playing funny verbal pranks on friends and others in general can be a great way to get some laughs and to connect with the person.
Some of these pranks can be a little personal however so we recommend that you use them based on the level of the relationship you have with the intended victim.
In this article, we shall show you some words and phrases to say to get other people to say something funny.
3 Ways to Make Other People Say Something funny.
1. Talk like the Flash – Funny Phrases to Say Fast
One of the best known ways to make people say funny things is to get them to repeat a phrase that sounds funny when it is said pretty fast.
The phrase itself would look totally harmless thereby drawing in the victim like a spider web but once they fall for it and say the words fast enough, the person goes from being an intended victim to an actual victim mwahahaha.
Funny pranks with no bad words
This is for those people who do not like to use profanity or for situations where profanity can get you into a bit of trouble. For instance, maybe you want to play a trick on your boss, it’s probably best you use these then not those ones that you would use on friends.
-
Tell someone to say, “Ice Bank Mice Elf” as fast as they can and listen as it sounds like, “I spank myself”. -
Get the person to say the words, “Eye Yam Stew Peed”.They don’t even need to say this one fast to realize that they just called themselves stupid. -
Convince a person to say, “We Todd Ed” really fast and it will sound like they just defecated. -
If you want to make it seem as though a person eats poop then try, “I eat mop who”.
So remember how we inferred that you might be able to use these on your boss, it’s probably best if you don’t. But if you do want to know funny things you can do at work, here you go.
Funny pranks with Profanity
Humor always seems to be funnier when there is profanity involved for some reason so there are many more funny phrases to say fast with some form of profanity. Some of these are:
-
Saying “Gabe itches” really fast a couple of times sounds like you are telling someone to acquire female dogs *nudge nudge wink wink. -
Also saying “sofa king awesome” fast a couple of times makes it seem like you think something is really awesome. -
Getting a guy to say “My Dixie Wrecked” a couple of times makes it sound like they are in an upright and locked position if you catch my drift. -
Tell a guy to say “nis I have no p” or a lady to say “Jyna I have a va” fast a couple of times and I think you’ll understand why. -
For a phrase that can be said both fast and slowly try, “Alpha Kenny body” and it sounds like the person has no standards when it comes to sexual relations.
In order to better convince someone to say these words, you could try presenting it as a challenge by telling them that they couldn’t possibly say the words above. Their competitive nature will get the job done.
Again, these are best used on friends and only certain kinds of friends for that manner so be careful when using them or you could get into trouble with the person you use them on.
2. That Doesn’t Sound Right.
Apart from making someone say something really fast that would end up sounding funny, you could also get people to say phrases that sound like something else when they are said out aloud.
Clean edition.
Some of the cleaner words and phrases to say include
-
Telling the person to spell the word “pig” backwards and then saying “multiple colors”. This would make it seem as though the person pees different colors. -
Convincing someone to say “eye” and then spelling the word “cup”. They should probably stop looking at you peeing.
Explicit version.
As was the case above, profane phrases seem to be more numerous in number some of which include:
-
Getting the person to hold their tongue and saying “I was born on a pirate ship”. This sounds like they were born wherever sewage piles up. -
Telling a person to say “eye” and then to spell “map” and then to say “ness”. Put together this sounds like the person is calling themself a male phallic organ. -
Continuing in the same vein, you could try convincing a guy to spell “i-HOP” and then to say “ness”. He would probably wonder why you hate his coitus tool. -
Asking a person to say: “ i 1 2 ½ 6”. They need to find their sexual partner ASAP. -
Convincing a female (one that you know quite well and can joke with) to look down and spell the word “attic”. She would simply be stating what she sees on her chest. -
Getting a person to say “I won a maths debate”. If they want to play with themselves, they need to get a room and stop being so loud about it. -
Telling someone to spell say “I.P.” and then “freely”. It would sound as though they need more bladder control.
3. Misdirection
We saved the best for last for you see, misdirecting people such that they say what they wouldn’t normally say or give a wrong answer to a question includes by far, the most popular and funny verbal pranks there are.
Some of which include:
-
Telling someone to spell the word “pots”. After they do so, ask them the question, “What do you do at a green light”. If you do this fast enough, chances are that they will reply, “stop” when in fact they should reply “go”. -
A variant of the misdirection above is to tell a person to say “shop” ten times. Afterwards ask them what they would do at a green traffic light and they will most likely say “stop” instead of go. -
Asking someone to say “roast” six times and then asking them what goes into a toaster. Marvel as they most likely say “toast” instead of bread. -
Getting someone to repeat the following:
- This is this cat.
- This is is cat.
- This is how cat.
- This is to cat.
- This is keep cat.
- This is an cat.
- This is idiot cat.
- This is busy cat.
- This is for cat.
- This is forty cat.
- This is seconds cat.
Then tell them to read out the third letter of each sentence. This probably fooled you too.
-
Asking someone if the capital of Nigeria is pronounced “Lay-gos” or “Lah-gos”. Their response doesn’t matter if they pick either because the capital of Nigeria is Abuja. You could also do this with the capital of Kentucky whereby you ask if the capital is spelled “Loo-ee-ville” or “Loo-wiss-ville” when in fact the capital is Frankfort. Feel free to add your own. -
Asking someone the question, “John’s father had four children named: East, West and North, what is the name of the fourth child?” They would most probably say the answer is “South” when it is indeed, “John”. -
Asking someone to say the word “silk” ten times and then asking them what it is that cows drink. They would most likely say “milk” but cows actually drink water. -
Challenging someone by saying that if you say the words, “pumpkin pie” really slowly, it sounds like “gullible”. God I hope only your friends fall for this or things could get awkward really fast. -
Playing the following scenario on someone:
You: I can make you say blue if I wanted.
Person: We’ll see.
You: What color is my (something that is yellow)?
Person: Yellow.
You: What color is my (something green)?
Person: Green.
You: What color is my (something black)?
Person: Black
You: Yes! I made you say black.
Person: But I was supposed to say blue.
Game over. You win.
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Asking someone the following: “If red houses are made out of red blocks, blue houses are made out of blue blocks, yellow houses are made out of yellow blocks and white houses are made of white blocks, what is a greenhouse made out of?” Friendly reminder, greenhouses are made out of glass not green blocks. -
Asking them the question: “You are driving from Durban to Windhoek. You leave Durban with 15 people and pick 5 more at Pretoria. You then get to Johannesburg where 10 people get off and 7 people get on. In Gaborone, 6 people get on and 8 people get off and when you get to Tsabong, 9 people get off and 4 people get on. You then drive nonstop to Windhoek. Don’t use a calculator but tell me, what was the name of the bus driver?” Just so you know, the answer is “you” because you were the one driving.
Frequently Asked Questions.
1. What are some of the most fun words to say?
- Badassery
- Bougie
- Flatulent
- Zozzled
- Gobbledygook
- Bumfuzzle
- Gardyloo
- Discombobulate
- Malarky
- Comeuppance
- Cantankerous
2. How do you trick someone to say something?
The most effective way is to misdirect them by making them think they are saying one thing when in fact they are saying something else. For instance, telling someone to say the word “eye” and then to spell “ICUP”. This sounds like them telling you that they can see you peeing.
3. How do you trick people’s minds?
You can trick people by misdirecting them For instance:
-
Telling them to say silk five times and then asking them what cows drink. They might say milk when in fact it is water. -
Using your eyes to manipulate people to move in the direction you want by looking at them and then looking at the direction you want. This works in sports and when people are walking. -
If you want to make someone eat something. Tell them “Please eat (something) from the blue plate”. They would be intrigued by the blue plate and forget that they might not even want to eat the thing in question.
Conclusion
Making people laugh is a good thing as it makes you seem more relatable to people as shown by this graph from Socialpronow.
One way to do so is by making those people laugh by playing a verbal prank on them. As the graph above shows however, it is important that you do not play offensive pranks as people do not generally like them as much and if you do, it must be with someone close who enjoys that kind of humor or at least someone who you know would not mind it.
You should be careful not to overdo this however, because people can only find being the butt of a joke amusing so many times.
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English Word Jokes With Explanations: A Humorous Approach to Language Learning
7 min
Created: March 21st, 2023Last updated: April 12th, 2023
Contents
What did the pirate say when he turned 80? Aye, matey! See, this is one of our favorite wordplay jokes in English. And we will tell you much more than just this one since we believe the language-studying process shouldn’t be boring.
Non-native speakers often limit themselves to humor for fear of saying something wrong. But the point is that jokes are a great way to boost your language level and self-confidence. This article provides tips and types of tricky humor in English to make the most out of it. So, please, make yourself comfortable and forget about tedious rules because today we are just going to have fun.
Why Play-On-Words Jokes Are A Great Way To Improve Your English
The main reason why people give up their language-learning goals is simple – they become bored. Sometimes, it is not enough to learn the rules. And in such cases, studying through funny word jokes seems like the perfect way to enhance your fluency level. Here are only a few reasons that explain the benefits of wordplay humor:
- A fun way to expand vocabulary. Most play-on-words jokes are based on idioms, puns, and other forms of figurative language. Hence, the more gags you use in daily conversations or hear from your interlocutors, the more new words and phrases you remember.
- The main way to understand English humor. Do you know how many “knock-knock” jokes are out there? Well, nobody knows that, but we are confident that there are millions of them. They are one of the whales that maintain English comedy and are primarily based on word plays. Hence, learning such jokes is a key to understanding natives and their sense of humor.
- Major confidence booster. A good joke is a great ice-breaker – you can use it to start a conversation, smooth out an awkward silence, or defuse a tense situation. And when you hear other people laughing at your jokes, your confidence goes above and beyond.
And we will not even start with other advantages of funny play-on-words jokes, like boosting memory or enhancing comprehension and pronunciation skills. We want you to see them all by yourself. So, without further ado, let’s move on to the next topic.
7
Types of Wordplay Jokes
Since there are many kinds of word jokes, it is essential to understand the difference between them all. Therefore, here are the most common types of wordplay jokes you can hear from native speakers:
- Puns. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a pun is a joke that exploits the multiple meanings of a word or phrase for humorous effect.
- Spoonerisms. It is a type of wordplay where two words’ initial sounds or letters are switched to create a new phrase.
- Double entendres. It is a phrase or statement with a double interpretation, often with one meaning being suggestive or inappropriate.
- Tom Swifty. It is a type of pun where an adverb is used to modify a quote or statement humorously.
Now you know a bit more about variations of the wordplay jokes. And it means it’s time to finally have a good laugh and check out our favorite puns, spoonerisms, and double entendres.
Some think understanding humor in a non-native language is the final step to fluency. And we can’t argue with that! Therefore, here are some famous gags to make you giggle and help you with your studying at the same time.
- Why is the six afraid of the seven? Because 7 8 9.
If you don’t get this one, try to read it aloud. This way, you will see that the poor six is afraid because it doesn’t want to be eaten by her hungry neighbor (seven ate nine).
- Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.
It is another excellent pun based on the two meanings of the word “dressing” (like the condiment and the process of putting on clothes).
- My kids like chilled grease sandwiches I make for them.
It is an example of spoonerism – the initial letters of the words grilled cheese were switched, and instead of a tasty sandwich, poor kids got, well, a funny joke.
- Why didn’t the skeleton go to the party? He had no body to go with.
Here is another excellent tip for making a guru and telling the best wordplay jokes. The simpler and sillier it sounds, the better the effect will be. Like this pun – it is so bad that it is actually very good.
- Why do the Promova tutors wear sunglasses to their lessons? Because their students are very bright.
One more tip for you – jokes don’t have to be rude or offensive. Occasionally, they can be silly little compliments to make someone smile. Like this one – the point is in the double meaning of the word bright (literal one – bright like the sun, and the second one – bright as intelligent).
- I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough.
Last but not least, a joke on our list is also based on double meanings (apparently, these are our favorites). In this case, the word dough has two meanings – literal, as a substance for making bread, and slang as a description of slang for money.
Funny Word Play Examples
Alright, we know that you want more than that. Therefore, here is another list of hilarious wordplay jokes. But this time, we didn’t add any captions or explanations – try to practice and understand the point yourself.
- Did you hear about the guy who lost his left arm and leg in a car crash? He’s all right now.
- I used to play piano by ear, but now I use my hands.
- What’s the difference between a poorly-dressed man on a trampoline and a well-dressed man on a trampoline? Attire.
- I’m trying to organize a hide-and-seek competition, but finding good players is hard.
- Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two tired.
- Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay, they’d be bagels.
- What do you call a can opener that doesn’t work? A can’t opener.
And that’s it! Congratulations, you are probably now fluent in English if you got those jokes right. And if not – don’t worry because most of them are confusing. Instead, write your favorite wordplay jokes in the comments section. You know that we are always up for a good laugh.
Mastering Humor and Fluency with Promova
As much as English jokes might be fun for native speakers, they can confuse language learners. Hence, reaching some proficiency level to joke and understand puns and spoonerisms is essential. And if you are struggling with finding the best studying option, say no more. Here, at Promova, we know exactly what to offer you.
But before that, what is Promova? It is an international language-learning platform available for students from all over the world. After visiting the official website, you can choose from several options to get started.
- Personal and group lessons with experienced tutors. Our team of professionals is always ready to help you achieve your studying goals. You can start your 1-to-1 lessons or join a group of up to six people from different countries to have more fun.
- Convenient mobile application. If you prefer studying alone, you can do so from the comfort of your bed. Just install the Promova application from the App Store or Google Play and access unique lessons suitable for your needs.
- Conversation Club. What is the best way to practice wordplay jokes? Only telling them to other people. And if you don’t have English speakers in your surroundings, we invite you to our free Conversation Club! Here you can discuss exciting topics, meet new friends, and simply have fun.
And, of course, we couldn’t forget about the Promova Blog! Here you will find dozens of thrilling articles that will help you learn valuable information, tips, popular language-learning trends, and much more. And guess what? It is also entirely free! So please, don’t waste another minute – visit the official Promova website now and find the studying plan of your dream.
Conclusion
Okay, we got the last one for you. Why did the pregnant woman start screaming, “Isn’t, can’t, I’m” in the middle of the street? Because she was having contractions. And that’s it for today! We hope that this article helps you broaden your humor horizons because jokes are the perfect way to feel fluent and confident when speaking a foreign language. And don’t forget – studying English doesn’t have to be tedious. Together, we can make it fun.
FAQ
What are homophone jokes?
Homophone wordplay jokes are the ones created by using homophones – words that spell differently but sound the same. For example, what do you call a deer with no eyes? No idea (no e- d r). Homophone jokes are very popular among people of different ages because they can have both innocent and inappropriate contexts.
Are there any differences between puns and double entendres?
Yes, there is a difference. Even though both types of wordplay jokes are based on double meanings, they differ in context. Puns are just simple, silly gags that have no sexual undertone. Double entendres, on the other hand, also have two meanings, but one interpretation is usually risqué.
Is it always a good time to say wordplay jokes?
Unfortunately, it is not. Many people don’t like such jokes and even find them annoying. Therefore, you need to be sure you have the right audience before telling your puns. Also, there are many situations where any joke might be considered inappropriate. You need to be careful and analyze the circumstances to avoid any misunderstandings.
What are some common tips for memorizing wordplay jokes?
Some common tips for memorizing wordplay jokes include practicing them beforehand, writing them down for later reference, and using mnemonic devices to help remember them. Additionally, it’s helpful to think about the structure of the joke and how the words play off each other, which can aid in recall.
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Ah, Words With Friends (WWF)… it’s all fun and games until your opponent sticks an “X” tile on the triple-word space. How are you supposed to get the upper hand in all of your match-ups and come out on top? There’s no need to worry—we’ve put together plenty of tips, tricks, and strategies to help you win at WWF. How many points is the word “victory” worth, again?
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Parallel words make it easy to set up high-value combos. As the game starts, commit to playing your first few words in either horizontal or vertical lines. That way, you can create new words by intersecting letter tiles with existing rows or columns.[1]
- If you played the words “LAYER” and “ZESTY” 2 rows apart horizontally, you could play the word “YES” between the central letters on a future turn.
- Playing in parallels can also help you control the board better, since it prevents your opponent from playing longer words.[2]
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Shorter words keep gameplay in the center of the board. Long words are great, but they create lots of opportunities for your opponent to scoop up double and triple bonuses, which are found toward the outside of the board. Short, 4- or 5-letter words help keep gameplay centralized, and help you better control the point margins.[3]
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Letters like “X” and “J” aren’t a handicap—they’re your secret weapon! Look for strategic ways to fit these high-value letters into your future plays, using what’s on the board as a starting point. For an even bigger bonus, memorize words that have multiple high-value letters in them, like:[4]
- X and J: JINXED, JUKEBOX, JINX
- X and Z: ZAX, ZAXES, OXIDIZE
- Z and J: JEEZ, JAZZ, MUZJIK
- “J,” “Q,” and “Z” are worth 10 points, and are the most valuable tiles in the game. “X” is a close runner-up, and is worth 8 points.[5]
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Maximize point value using as few letters as possible. Word length doesn’t matter in WWF—it’s the point value that counts. 2-letter words can pack a big punch when they include high-value consonants. These short words are easy to tack onto existing words; plus, they can get you a whole lot of points if you arrange them over the right power-up spaces. Try words like:[6]
- QI
- XI
- JA
- JO
-
Having a hand full of As, Es, Is, and Os can feel pretty helpless. Inspect the game board for any “R” tiles in play that could possibly be transformed into a new word. There are plenty of vowel-heavy words that only have a single “R” in them, like:
- ARIA
- AERIE
- UREA
- EERIE[7]
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Why make your own word when you can just use your opponent’s? Maybe your opponent played the word “BOX” to capitalize on the “X” letter bonus. Transform their play into even more points by adding a prefix or suffix to the word, like “UN-,” “-ED,” “-ER,” or “-ES.” Prefixes and suffixes are a great way to turn your opponent’s own gameplay against them![8]
- Prefixes: A-, AN-, CO-, DIS-, EX-, IN-, NON-, POST-, PRE-, UP-
- Suffixes: -ACY, -AL, -ISM, -IST, -MENT, -SHIP, -SION/TION
-
Hooks are single letters that can be tacked on to the end of words that are in play. Take words like “BOSS,” “ERGO,” “CHIN,” “CURE,” and “ACHE”—they all can stand on their own, but they all can be turned into more powerful, high-value words.[9]
Take a closer look:- “BOSS” + “Y” = BOSSY (originally worth 7 points, now worth 10 points)
- “ERGO” + “T” = ERGOT (originally worth 6 points, now worth 7 points)
- “CHIN” + “E” = CHINE (originally worth 10 points, now worth 11 points)
- “CURE” + “R” = CURER (originally worth 8 points, now worth 9 points)
- “ACHE” + “D” = ACHED (originally worth 9 points, now worth 11 points)
- Note: These point calculations only factor in the base value of the tiles. With power-up spaces like DL, TL, DW, and TW, hooks have limitless potential to net you more points.
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These versatile tiles can build into or create countless valuable words. Letter “S” tiles are really easy to tack onto existing words, giving you the entire point value of that word (plus the “S”!), along with the point value of the new word you created.[10]
- Maybe your friend played “KNOCK” horizontally from a TL to a DL space, earning them a whopping 32 points. Create a totally new word like “MOLDS,” sticking the “S” at the end of “KNOCK” and building your new word vertically. Not only will you get 33 points from “KNOCKS,” you’ll also get points for playing “MOLDS”!
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A well-placed “Q” tile can easily put you in the lead. There are plenty of WWF-permissible words that include “QI,” “QA,” or other non-QU combos. The next time you get a “Q” in your hand, try playing one of these words:[11]
- QOPH
- QWERTY
- QADI
- QAT
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Be prepared in case you’re running low on vowels. Words like “CRYPT,” “RHYTHM,” and “SCRY” have got you covered.[12]
WWF even accepts some onomatopoeia words, like “HMM,” “BRR,” and “SHH.” Here are a few other words you can commit to memory for later:- PFFT
- PSST
- TSK
- CRWTH(S)[13]
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A triple-word bonus helps you build a bigger lead than a double one. There are 3 different kinds of bonuses that are close to the center of the board: DW (Double Word), DL (Double Letter), and TL (Triple Letter). These bonuses are pretty good, but they’re nothing compared to the TW (Triple Word) bonus, which is found 8 total times toward the 4 outer corners of the board. Whenever possible, snag a TW combo to really amp up your score.[14]
- For example, the word “ZAPS” could earn you 34 points when played between a DW and TL space, but could earn you 51 points when played between a TW and TL space.
- Be strategic with TW spaces, though! Don’t play a word on a TW tile if it gives your opponent easy access to the exact same power-up.
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WWF is as much of a defensive game as it is an offensive one. Keep a close eye on the power-up squares near the new words that you play. Does your new word give your opponent a free shot at a TW space, or does it block them off from any good opportunities? Always play with your opponent’s score in mind, rather than your own score.[15]
- For instance, you wouldn’t want to play the word “GHOST” right next to a TW square. Your opponent could easily tack on an “-S” and pick up the triple-word bonus!
-
The game’s built-in “tile bag” feature helps you weigh your options. Think of the tile bag as a snapshot of the letters that currently are and aren’t in play. Not sure if your opponent is going to surprise you with a high-value letter like “J,” “Q,” or “Z”? Pull open the “tile bag” built into your game and see what tiles haven’t been played yet.[16]
- For instance, there is only 1 “Q” tile given out in a single WWF game. If you don’t have a “Q,” there’s no “Q” played on the board, and there’s no “Q” in the tile bag, you can assume that your opponent might have a high-value word/combo up their sleeve in an upcoming turn.
- The tile bag can also help you brainstorm potential words to play in future turns. If you’d like to play the word “FAXES” but are missing an “S” tile, check the tile bag and see how many “S” tiles are leftover. If there are a lot of “S” tiles left in the bag, there’s a good chance you might pick one up during your next turn.
- Just keep in mind that your opponent can use this feature, too!
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This isn’t super ethical, but it pretty much guarantees you the win. Cheating programs like “Words Cheat” process information from your current WWF game, like the letters you have, and suggest high-value words that you can play. Some apps even analyze the letters/words that are currently in play on the game board.[17]
- Android Cheating Apps: Words With Friends Cheat (by Scabby Apps) and Word Breaker (by Firecracker Software)
- iOS Cheating Apps: Cheat for Words With Friends and Cheat Master for Words Friends
- For less overt cheating, pull up a word finder site like https://scrabblewordfinder.org/ to see which words you can make with the tiles in your hand.
- Take a little extra time to make your play if you’re using a cheating program. If you keep playing high-value words in a really short span of time, your opponent may start to catch onto your wily ways.
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Try a defensive strategy during your next game! Focus on stealing and blocking off your opponent’s opportunities rather than making huge, aggressive plays.
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Hold onto blank tiles if you get them—they can add a lot of versatility to your potential plays. Just keep in mind that they aren’t worth any points, and can’t be used to replicate high-value tiles like “J” and “Z.”
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Have a friend try to name the colors the words are written in, and not read the words. Some mind tricks in question form have an unsolvable answer.
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Ask them to say shop ten times , then say “what do you do when you come to a green light?” they’ll carefull say:
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Play words with friends 2 lightning rounds better. Your mind is pretty f*#king dirty! Now have them think of another number between 0 and 9 to add to their current number.
The most interesting type of games is the one that tricks our minds and makes us challenge ourselves or others. Before the magical encounter before you go up to a random audience member and start performing easy mind magic tricks on them, there are a few things to remember when selecting the right mind to read. Isn’t that the whole point, that they don’t expect it?
Now that we have that clear, here are the three mind games toxic people play with you. Here are some of the easier mind tricks to carry out. One of the most helpful mind hacks is called faking it until you make it.
It’s funny to think about it, but your mind really does play tricks on you. Name the color of the following things as fast as you can: They should think of one of the fingers and not tell you which one.
Some you can carry out alone, others require at least one other person. You will find 17 great prank sites that will give you funny prank ideas and tools you need to fool your friends in ways they would probably never expect. If you’ve had your birthday this year add 1766.
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Write the names of the colors using your markers. The pencil slowly begins to rise in the bottle. Then, tell them to double the number and add 5 to the new number.
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They also come in handy if you want to impress your teacher, parents, or friends. Ask someone to think of a number between 0 and 9. Mia was dressed as a bumblebee and her friends were ladybugs and butterflies.
Ask your friend to look into your eyes and when doing it, tell them to say they can’t stop looking. They are mostly harmless, except for the second one, which we feel you shouldn’t take more advantage of. Try this it is really cool.
Therefore if you think of the end of the melody, the song will be complete and your mind will reset. Start your phrase with the words ‘i need your help. Unconsciously, they will put up some tiny resistance when you touch the finger they had chosen.
When you command it to rise, it does. Down slowly, otherwise you’ ll see the answers. These three tricks are arranged from easiest to hardest (smallest numbers to biggest).
The games that we play are available in different types and levels to allow us to choose the most interesting games that help us to enjoy our time alone or with our friends. Welcome to my post 10 most popular mind reading tricks revealed ! if you’ve been banging your head against the wall each time you watch a mentalism trick happening, trying to figure out the secret behind its success, then this one is for you. Your mind will continue to think of things that are unfinished or incomplete, according to the zeignark effect.
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Tap to play or pause gif 6. It’s time to warm up your brain and check out some of the best offerings from propensity for curiosity, gathered by bored panda, guaranteed to make you think, probably get frustrated when you see the answer, and then think, “why didn’t i think of that?” When you say go down, it descends.
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This’ll release the song from your mind, so you can get back to focusing on something productive. Though peer pressure is often seen as a mind trick with a negative connotation, it’s persuasive power is in forcing a person to conform. Gently, use your finger to push against each of the fingers, one by one.
As they went around the neighborhood, mia said “there is always this one house that i think is haunted. You can use the same old trick in different situations. These tricks can be good fun to test with your family and friends.
The number in the ten’s place will be half. See more ideas about mind tricks, cool illusions, funny memes. Which is basically your mind having a problem with things left unfinished.
Vary the colors and don’t make the words match the marker colors. This type of games is called mind tricks. Drop it in an empty bottle and move your hand over the opening, chanting a few magical words.
Gain, preserve or acquire control toxic people are all about control—if they don’t have control over other people, they have nothing. Thus, you’ve made your mind and chose broccoli for their lunch, but they feel like they have really made their own decision. For example, write “red” in blue ink, “brown” in purple ink, etc.
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At that point, ask them what they took for lunch three days back. If you multiply 6 by an even number, the answer will end with the same digit.
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Many of us often find that we have lots of exciting strategies to teach other skills in phonics, but when it comes to teach tricky words it’s just a case of getting out the flaschards again, and hope the children remember them.
How else can you teach tricky words in a more exciting way?
It is true that using flashcards is one of the best ways to teach tricky words, as learning to read these words is all about memory and recognition more than anything else. However, there are lots of fun games that can really bring the teaching of tricky words to life, and make it an exciting and more stimulating process.
Please read on, to find out more.
First, what are ‘tricky’ words?
Words become ‘tricky’ when they can’t be sounded out using normal phonic methods.
E.g. the word ‘dog’ is not tricky, because it can be segmented into its phonic sounds – d-o-g – and then blended correctly into the word. However, if you try to sound out the word ‘go’, you would get ‘g-o’ which sounds like ‘goh’.
The crucial thing is that tricky words cannot be sounded out, but must be recognised as a whole word. That is why fun games to help this recognition process are so important.
What order should the tricky words be taught in?
Tricky words are normally taught in an order. This is based upon a mixture of their relative simplicity (with easier words at the start of the list), and also of their frequency in the English language.
Children learning the most common words such as ‘I’ and ‘the’. Here is the order of the first few ‘tricky words’:
I , no, to, the, go, into
he, she, we, me, be, you, are, her, was, all, they, my
There are many more after this, but we will stop here. However, this blog post would be relevant for teaching tricky words throughout all the phases.
How to introduce the ‘tricky words’
The standard way to first introduce ‘tricky words’ is to show the children the word, and then try to sound it out.
By doing this you demonstrate why it is ‘tricky’ because it will make a silly word. They often find this bit quite funny!
Then you tell them what the word really says, and then give them an example of how to use it. So, if the word was ‘they’, you would say something like ‘they all went to the park’.
Then get the children to try to come up with a sentence with the word in (some children are better at that than others). When you have taught a few tricky words in this way, it is time to get started on the games using the words they have learned.
1. Ghost Game
In this game have lots of ‘tricky words’ in a bag or box.
A group of children sit in a circle.
You would, for example, have five words in the bag, and about three laminated flashcards of each one. You also have one flashcards that has the picture of a ghost on it.
The children take it in turns to pick a card out of the bag. They try to read it (e.g. ‘go’).
Then they pass the bag to the next child, who picks one out and reads it. When someone picks out the ghost they shout ‘Boo!’ and they are the winner.
Everyone else has to put their cards back in the bag, and you start again.
This can get a bit rowdy, but is great for nervous anticipation and heightening focus!
2. Magic Camera Game
This is a strategy to help develop visual memory. You show the children a flashcard of a tricky word, or have it up on a screen or board.
You get the children to physically take a ‘photo’ of it, using a pretend camera, and store the photo in their brains forever.
To find out 22 more games that are excellent for developing early memory skills then take a look at this.
3. Round the circle
I think success normally breeds success in phonics, and this next game is great for that. This game works even if you are not sure how to read the words, as long as you stay reasonably alert and can copy a bit off your friend.
Sit the children in a circle, and have lots of copies of flashcards of the words you are teaching (e.g. three lots of ‘go’, ‘to’, ‘no’, ‘the’, and ‘I’).
Then you give a child a flashcard and get them to read it (e.g. the word ‘no’). They read the word then pass it to the person next to them, who also reads the word. The children just continue passing the word and reading it.
Introduce more cards, so there are several going round the circle. This game is great for cooperation and focus. It is also good for both as practice for more skillful children, and an opportunity for less skillful children to join in without looking silly.
To find out my favorite 21 circle games, then take a look at this.
4. Beat the clock round the circle!
This is a version of the previous round the circle game, but with a timer. You say something like ‘Can we pass all of these words around the circle in two minutes?’
Then you let the children get on with it and have a go. Speed challenges are great for many children, as they introduce competition and engagement.
5. Quiz Quiz Swap
This is a classic cooperation game that can be used to teach many different skills.
Give the children one ‘tricky word’ flashcard each.
Get them to stand up and then go and find a partner. Read your partner’s ‘tricky word’ and then swap with them. Then go and find another partner and repeat.
Try to interact with as many partners as you can.
This is a good one for practice, and also you will hopefully find that more skillful children start to coach the less able in how to read the words.
6. Secret Spies!
This is a simple way to jazz up the process of showing flashcards to a group.
Get the children to sit in pairs. As you show the flashcards, get them to whisper what they are to the child next to them, just like a secret spy!
This is also a fantastic game for practising number recognition, and even rote counting.
7. Snap!
This is a ‘tricky word’ version of the classic card game. This is good played in a small group.
Have lots of flashcards of a few ‘tricky’ words, and get the children to deal out a pile to whoever is playing (or deal for them if necessary).
Then they take turns to put one card on the table and say what they think it is. Then the next player puts one on top, and says it.
Continue until you get two the same, and the winner is the person who puts their hand on them first and shouts ‘Snap!’
8. Tricky word domino game
Have some tricky words with domino spots on the back. One child rolls the dice, and then picks up a domino with that number of spots on. They try to read what the tricky word says.
9. Tricky word racetrack
Create a racetrack on a large piece of sugar paper, or card. It will have a track that is broken into square, each one with a tricky word on.
It is best at least twenty squares from start to finish. A small group of children each have a counter. The counters start on the start-line. Then they take turns to roll the dice and then jump that number of squares up the track.
Whatever word you land on you say the word.
The winner is the player that gets to the finish line first.
10. Tricky word bingo
This is a very popular game, that I see a lot in schools. In this game a group of up to about six children each have a bingo board with tricky words on.
There is then a pot of ‘tricky’ word flaschards in the middle of the table. They take it in turns to pick a flashcard out of the pot, try to read it and then see if they have it on their board.
If they do, then they place it on the word. If not, they put it back.
The winner is the first person to fill their board.
11. Jump the lily pads
This is just one of many great ‘tricky’ word games that you can play outside. Have hoops on the ground with ‘tricky’ words written in chalk inside them. There are many games you can play.
You can play a game like the ‘racetrack’ game described before. Roll a big dice and then jump down the hoops until you get to the correct pad and say the word.
The winner is the first person to get to the end.
Children find it quite good fun just jumping down the lily pads and saying the words. You can also throw things like beanbags into the hoops and try to say the word that you hit.
I have also played a game with balls that have ‘tricky’ words written on that children try to kick into a goal that they really love (take a look at the ultimate 30 ball games for kids here).
12. Against the clock!
Speed and fluency are very important when it comes to reading ‘tricky’ words, and this game is great for developing these qualities.
This is good in partners.
One child has an egg timer, the other has a pile of tricky words. You have a minute to read as many as you can, then your partner has a go.
Conclusion
I hope this blog post has given you some inspiration for some fun games to play to teach ‘tricky’ words. Most of these games require only minimal preparation, and just a set of flashcards will get you quickly started.
Also, these games can be played throughout the phonic phases. Some children will naturally recognise these words much more quickly than others, but if you just keep going and trying to make it fun, hopefully all children will make progress at a rate that is suitable for them.
If you’ve found this useful then take a look at Ten Terrific Alliteration Activities.
Using letter-sound correspondences is the most reliable strategy for spelling and reading words, however, there are times when a student will come upon ‘tricky words’ and cannot rely on this strategy. These words are tricky because they cannot be spelled or read phonetically using the letter-sound correspondences known by the student. Often, teachers try to teach tricky words using repeated visual exposure – whole word imaging or memorising – but research indicates that this is not the most effective approach. This blog will discuss the flaws of the ‘whole word’ approach to the learning of tricky words and suggest more appropriate teaching/learning strategies.
Tricky Words or Irregular Words?
A word may be temporarily tricky. The student who has been taught only single-letter short vowel representations and the most common single-letter consonant representations will struggle to read and write some of the words commonly seen in basic sentences, such as ‘I’, ‘the’, ‘my’ and ‘was’. They will appear to be irregular to the student until the child is taught more of the advanced code.
Tricky words – high frequency but tricky to decode when a child has less of the phonics code.
Once the student has learned those letter-sound correspondences, the word will no longer be tricky or seem irregular. High-quality explicit synthetic phonics readers often list the temporarily tricky words they contain on the inside cover. These words are explicitly taught before the child reads the book.
Some words are permanently tricky. These are the irregular words (sometimes called ‘rule breakers’ or ‘exception words’). They cannot be completely encoded or decoded phonetically, even by advanced learners. However, only about 4% of English words have a completely irregular spelling, such as ‘eye’. Many irregular words are decodable except for just one letter. E.g. ‘friend’.
What Exactly are Sight Words?
As I once heard someone say,
‘Sight word’ is a goal, not a quality of a word.”
A sight word is essentially any word a person recognises automatically, without effort. It is not a word that has to be learned by visual rote memory. Words become sight words because of the number of times we see or write them in context. All words, regular and irregular, become sight words for competent readers.
Fluent readers appear to be ‘reading by sight’, using a straight visual-lexical pathway. Consequently, for many decades, teachers have been expected to teach their students a ‘sight word’ list, the most well-known being the Dolch and the Fry lists. These are actually lists of high-frequency words, the words most frequently seen in written text, therefore most likely to become ‘sight words’ first. The first 100 words from Fry’s list make up 50% of the words children read. Typically, teachers have taught children to learn and recall these words as wholes rather than to decode or encode them phoneme by phoneme. Children have been asked to memorise the word shape or salient visual features and have been ‘drilled’ with flashcards.
Some high-frequency words contain only standard letter-sound correspondences so are totally decodable and should not be taught as sight words.
Fry’s word list – words in red are perfectly decodable even before consonant digraphs are taught and should not be taught as a ‘sight word’. The words ‘that’, ‘with’, ‘this’ and ‘when’ are perfectly decodable once digraphs are taught.
Others contain more advanced letter-sound correspondences and are tricky e.g. ‘was’ or ‘you’. Regular and irregular words on the sight word lists have been (and still are!) taught in exactly the same way – a nightmare for students with deficits in visual memory and/or rapid, automatic naming.
Flawed Practice
The practice of teaching words as whole words, be they regular or irregular, is flawed. Brain imaging studies undertaken since the 1990s have shown us that strong readers use the language and auditory centres of their brains as they read, decoding each sound so quickly that it appears instantaneous. They are not reading whole words – they are decoding the sounds in each word in milliseconds. According to Stanford research by Brian McCandliss, investigating how the brain responds to different types of reading instruction, beginning readers who focus on letter-sound relationships increase activity in the area of their brains best wired for reading (in the left hemisphere). In contrast, whole word learning is biased toward processing in the right hemisphere, the side of the brain that processes pictures and is typical of struggling readers.
You need to teach about 44 sound-letter correspondences and the skills of blending and segmenting, for phonics to make it possible to read and write 95% of all words. How many sight words do you need to teach to make it possible to read and write 95% of all words? Learning one word as a whole word/shape does not help the student learn other words. Consequently, this practice is inefficient, time-consuming and frustrating for students. It encourages students to be ‘word guessers’ when a word is not automatically recognised. There are minor visual differences between some words e.g. ‘though’, ‘thought’ and ‘through’. Without using knowledge of sounds, it is difficult to memorise them and not mix them up. The fastest, most efficient and reliable way to learn sight words is with phonics.
Teachers should distinguish between words that can be completely decoded using letter-sound correspondences and those that cannot. Words that can easily be decoded and encoded phoneme by phoneme require less teaching time than the tricky, irregular words.
The irony of the teaching practice of presenting irregular words to be learned as unanalysed wholes is that exception words require more letter-sound and phonemic analysis than regular words, not less”.
David A.Kilpatrick, 2015, Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties
Naming and Identifying Tricky Words
I like to use the term ‘tricky’ rather than ‘irregular’ with young children when talking about words that cannot be fully sounded out, because, as I mentioned before, some are only temporarily tricky. The word ‘tricky’ is also more intriguing than ‘irregular’ because tricks are usually fascinating and something that a child would like to master. The Orton-Gillingham program refers to tricky words as ‘red words’. The red alerts the student to the fact that these words cannot be sounded out in full. The tricky bit is written in red and the rest of the word in green.
The tricky words chosen for teaching should be those most helpful for the immediate reading or writing of an otherwise decodable text. A school should move students through a sequence of tricky words that all teachers follow until the words are mastered. Phonics Hero teaches tricky words in Part 1 and Part 2 of the games and Phonics Lessons. The number of words taught each week should reflect the student’s capacity for recall.
Tricky words should not be taught as whole units. Active analysis of words helps to put them into long term memory.
Steps for Explicit, Systematic Teaching of Tricky Words
Step 1: Read the tricky word to the student(s), then read it together. Say the word again, phoneme by phoneme, representing each sound with a counter in sound boxes. E.g:
Step 2: Identify the regular letter-sound-correspondences in the word. E.g:
Step 3: Identify the ‘tricky’ bit. In the word ‘many’, the short /e/ is represented by an ‘a’. Have the student(s) read then write the tricky word, using colour to highlight the tricky bit (red or a colour more meaningful to the student).
Step 4: If there is a reason for the unusual letter-sound correspondence that you are aware of, explain it. Explain the language origin, the etymology, the base word etc. E.g., ‘many’ is a short form of ‘manifold’ so is spelled like that word. English words don’t end in ‘i’ so the ‘i’ was changed to a ‘y’. The pronunciation of the ‘a’ was changed over the years.
Step 5: If appropriate, teach the student to use his ‘spelling voice’ in saying the tricky word, e.g. ’man-y’ (this is actually how some Irish people pronounce the word, so I get students to say it with an Irish accent!).
Step 6: Where needed, teach the student a mnemonic that will help him learn the tricky word. For example, there is a basket-shaped letter, ‘u’, in the middle of ‘buy’, which helps the student to remember that this homophone is associated with shopping.
Our Phonics Lessons include the teaching of tricky words for both reading and spelling. They’ve got the sound buttons, pictures to develop vocabulary and over 250 sentences using the target – everything you need to systematically teach them.
Start a Trial of Phonics Lessons With a Teacher Account
Further Tips:
If there are other words with the same tricky pattern, teach these alongside the initial word, as a set. For example, if teaching ‘could’, teach ‘would’ and ‘should’. In the Dolch list, ‘could’ is assigned to Grade 1, ‘would’ to Grade 2. The word ‘should’ does not appear at all. This makes no sense. We want to help students to see letter patterns.
For some students, a tricky word is easier to remember if they draw a picture into it. E.g. the ‘o’ that isn’t heard in ‘leopard’ might be more easily remembered if there were lots of spots drawn on the named animal.
Developing Automaticity
Automaticity in encoding and decoding of tricky words is easiest to achieve when multi-sensory activities and opportunities to ‘overlearn’ are provided.
- Phonics Hero (get access to free resources with a Teacher Account) provides both of these essentials in the games of steps 4 (reading tricky words), 5 (spelling tricky words) and 6 (reading tricky words in sentences). The tricky words in the Phonics Hero sentences are bolded to remind the student that it is not possible to decode the word sound by sound.
An example from Phonics Hero: this game targets the /ck/ sound and highlights the tricky words.
- Tracing, copying and writing of tricky words in various media will increase recall. Students may write them in the air with large movements, on the ground with a wet brush, in sand or shaving cream or in chalk on whiteboards. They may cut letters out of newspapers or magazines or use letter tiles, magnetic letters, stamps, play-dough, Wikki Stix or string letter beads. As the student writes or creates the letters in the correct order, they should simultaneously say the letter names. There’s lots more ideas in our easy tricky word activities post.
Write words in flour or foam, play Hopscotch or magnetic writing.
- Put tricky words on word strips and, each day, move them through a Mastery Folder or three containers labelled ‘words I’m learning’, ‘words I know’ and ‘word bank’, as the student correctly reads and/or spells them. Notice that I did not use the word ‘flashcard’ – speed should not take priority over accuracy!
- Play ‘Mix and Fix’: have the student make the tricky word with magnetic letters or letter tiles, check it with a model, then mix the letters up and fix them up again. This should be repeated three times.
Mix and fix those tricky words.
- Play ‘Word Detective’: show the student(s) a tricky word written on a whiteboard and ask the student(s) to read and orally spell the word. Turn the board away and erase a letter. Show the student(s) and ask them to identify the missing letter. The missing letter should then be written in again.
If children’s handwriting is still developing, use magnetic letters for ‘Word Detective’.
- Put the tricky words taught onto a Sound Wall that draws attention to the structure of the word, e.g. ‘people’ might be put under ‘long e’.
- Create meaningful opportunities for the student to read or write his tricky words in sentences.
- Play memory games such as Snap, Concentration, Bingo or Go Fish with tricky words on cards. Hangman is a particularly effective game for letter sequence recall in tricky words. Double print our tricky word cards: Playing with Sounds words or Letters and Sounds words.
- Use the Phonics Hero worksheets: for tricky word reading there is a word search and, for spelling, repeated practice. See a reading and spelling example. Educators can access the worksheets when they sign up for a Teacher Account and parents can log in (or sign up for an account) to purchase the worksheets.
When the student feels that he is developing automatic recall, encourage the student to self-assess by looking, saying, covering, visualising and writing the word, saying the letters. He can then check what he has written by comparing it with the original.
We Can do Better with Tricky Words
The teaching of tricky or irregular words should be much more effective, efficient and interesting than the ‘Drill and Kill’ practice of teaching each irregular word as a whole, on its own, out of context and with no reference to phonics. Tricky words are an opportunity (or challenge) to do word study, to teach about the many layers in our words: sounds (phonology), spelling (orthography), meaningful parts (morphology), function in a sentence (syntax) and meaning (semantics).
Author: Shirley Houston
With a Masters degree in Special Education, Shirley has been teaching children and training teachers in Australia for over 30 years. Working with children with learning difficulties, Shirley champions the importance of teaching phonics systematically and to mastery in mainstream classrooms.
If you are interested in Shirley’s help as a literacy trainer for your school, drop the team an email on info@phonicshero.com